Here is a campaign that exists on another plane. It is influencer marketing on steroids, content marketing so smart, so distinct, so alive, you'll think I'm exaggerating - I'm not. Their clever integration of a World Cup storyline, product placement and influencers will be a future case study on how to create a branded experience around sporting events.

But will Nike’s World Cup campaign pay off? Time will tell, but early signs are looking positive. Nike’s done a great job of blending product placement and a soon to be released mobile soccer app, with entertaining content. If that product/content connection converts to sales, their return on an obviously huge campaign budget will pay off.

Cristiano Ronaldo featured in the Nike "Risk Everything" Campaign

I asked Nike for some early statistics from the campaign. Let’s review:

To-date the campaign has generated more than 6 billion campaign impressions in 35 countries covering television, cinema, digital/mobile, gaming, print and outdoor. At least one-third (1/3) of those impressions were on mobile devices.

The total campaign has generated a jaw-dropping 372 million views combined.

Nike reports the campaign has proved to be their most social and mobile campaign, with 22 million campaign engagements to-date (likes, comments, shares).

To-date there have been 650,000 uses of the hashtag #riskeverything in social media.

The #askzlatan interactive campaign, where the animated Zlatan Ibrahimovich responds to consumer questions in short personalized films has had over 10.5 million digital views.

'The Last Game' Facebook post from NikeFootball is one of the most shared Facebook posts.

I recognize that it’s difficult to translate these results into dollars and sense, but it may not only be about immediate return on investment. Nike’s Chief Marketing Officer, Davide Grassoexplains,

“The engagement levels we have received prove that our social and digital connections continue to drive huge momentum for our brand, in football and in other sports. This is just the beginning of how we will connect with and inspire athletes around the world this summer and beyond."

If you are reading between the lines, Grasso believes Nike’s huge investment in digital and social campaigns either are paying off or soon will be. But one thing is certain, the Risk Everything campaign embodies something unique, something special and invariably lost when institutions become so large that the generic blandness of its commercial bureaucracy chokes off creativity and originality.

If Nike’s investment in their World Cup campaign is an indication of what we can expect from big organizations in the future - that’s something we can all cheer for.